The Portland daily press., 1887-05-05
SANITARY DEFECTS.
rooNrrNurp FROM FIRST rAGn.J


perhaps not at all. Sometimes the trap
under the bath tub on the upper floor, and
the one beneath the bath tub and wash stand
on the next floor below are on the same line
of pipe. The effect of such construction
Is as follows Whenever the water in the
upper fixture is discharged, 1t drives ahead
of 1t all the gas or bad air there is IN ~ or &c
feet of pipe between it and the wash stand
and bath tub on the next floor below, and
sends il out through the bath tub outlet OF
overflow, and If that is stopped, through the
smaller trap in the wash stand: from the
fact that these outlets offer less resist
ance than the trap below the bath tub
Within few weeks a similar arrangement
was put into a house here in Portland, and |
have seen the discharge from the upper
wash bowl knock the stopper out of the
lower one. or extinguish candle at the
bath tub vent. generally look for this error
as cause, when gurgllng noise in a certain
fixture occurs upon the use OF an adjacent
one, although there may be other reasons for
this effect This error Of double trapping is
very common, and treble trapping is moi
unusual. You have all poured water into O
bottle, and learned that the air must either
escape or be compressed. The Handicapped
sewer pipe is the same problem, and the
chances are that the vent that it makes fol
itself will be directly into your house.
The plan Of connecting your galvanized
iron rain conductors with the sewerage OF
plumbing system of the house is a very baG
one. 1t is in no way fit for gas conductor
it leaks at every foot of its Tapped or pressed
joint. 1t never starts gas tight, and If it did
the gas would soon eat it out. Its use inside
the house wall should never be permitted
The action of the sewer gas upon the solder
joints is more rapid than upon other parts OF
the pipe but it all becomes perforated in the
course of few years.
The use Of a chimney fiue heated or cold
as conduit for sewer gas is another dan
gerous practice. Bricks and mortar are por
Gus substances, and offer but slight barrier
to the passage of gases. A candle will burr
in a small box made as tight as bricks and
mortar will permit, supplied by the oxygen
that passes through them. Downward
draughts are far from infrequent, and the
so called hot fiue is often cold. The follow
ing story told by physician illustrates the
danger.
"A fatal case Of typhoid fever occurred al
a school in which especial sanitary precau,
tions had been taken. This led to fresh in
vestigation, and to the discovery that the
studiously planned ventilation of the sewer
had been ingeniously mismanaged, and that
the yentilator had been turned into the chin.
ney of the room in which the young lady
slept" Several of our school houses have.
know received the same ingenious treatment
In their cases also sickness and death led tc
investigation, as 1t has more recently in that
Of our city building
As / said at the opening of this article. nv
purpose has been to aid you to realize where
Uncertain methods and fixtures are defective
There is not time to speak of the principles
and illustrate the proper fixtures that go tC
make up good drainage and sanitary plumb
ing but l feel that there is one principle that
| must try and enforce npon your mind Il
is fundamental If you wish properly plumb
ed house, If you wish to remedy very many
of the dangers to health that j have illustrat.
ed above, II you wish to avoid the many more
that may occur by reducing their bad effects
to minimum, that the soil pipe be of good,
heavy tar coated iron, and start from point
5 or 6 feet outside the house, and extend full
size through and out of the top of the mousse
There should be trap on this pipe against
the street sewer gas, and there should be 9
fresh air inlet on the house side Of the trap,
and care should be taken in its location, as
against the occasional downward draught
and against its liability to freeze if the con
nection is too direct. To this soil pipe so ar
ranged, the different fixtures properly trap
ped can be attached.
Such an arrangement prevents almost en-
tlrely the formation of gases, and provides q
safe escape for those that may form. The
duty that every houseowner owes to himself
and family, is to see that these Fundamental
principles are complied with. The degree OF
excellence of the large variety Of interior fix
lures, is matter that may properly concern
us from time to time as improvements arr
made.
Mr.. Jordan thought plumbing law was
needed which should establish a standard to
which the householder must submit, and
towards which the plumber can work and be
only responsible for the quality of his work
Mr.. Jordan touched briefly the defects il
street sewers, and said the lesson to b.
learned from them was for householders tt
avoid contract jobs and for the city never Il
have foot of sewer pipe laid except in th,
presence of city inspector, whose dut,
shall be to see that every joint is made tight
and that the grade and alignment are KEEP
perfect. at is the duty" said the speaker
"of our City Government to place at tn,
disposal of our City Engineer-the superin.
tendent of sewers-inspectors for this pur-
pose" Mr.. Jordan also spoke of the yer,
bad condition of the drainage system of the
City Building.